Maple City Feis 2015 Review/2 Comments/in , , , /by

maplecityThe Inaugural Maple City Feis was held on February 21st, 2015 at the John D. Bradley Convention Center in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, and was hosted by the Cornell School.

Any feis can have its positives and negatives, and this feis is no different. Not going to pull any punches on the lows, considering this was the first one, or restrain myself on the highs. I mean if I can ding the feis that I was part of, why would I be any different for anyone else 😉

I do think the hand made chocolates in the shape of a maple leaf given to each dancer was a nice touch, especially if the dancer has nut allergies and does not eat anything where we can’t read the label, do she gave it to her Dad. It was delish by the way 😉

Venue

Our initial reaction to this ‘convention center’ was “wow, that’s small.” Might be the fact we are used to places like the IX Center at North Coast, but considering our initial thoughts, I thought this was a pretty good venue. In general, it was of adequate size for the number of competitors that attended, but I thought they could have used the space a little better.

As soon as you walked in, to the right were a number of long tables down one wall, adequate for eating, but really not much else. These took up a great deal of space, were not necessarily located close enough to any stage to see, and ended up being camping so when it was time to eat, seating for eating was hard to come by.

Temperature wise, I thought it was comfortable considering the meh weather outside. There only seemed to be one restroom per gender, but that did not seem to be an issue considering the attendance, and the venue was small enough where they were fairly convenient.

There were two larger rooms off one end of the venue. One served as the Open Champs stage area, and the other held the Champs award area with a podium, the grades awards table, and a section set aside for used dress sales.

The Awards/Dress room was fine, the Open Champ room was a claustrophobes nightmare. The stage was huge and marley covered, raised well above the spectators, then came the judge area, a bit lower but still raised, and then the spectator seating. As always, it seemed that people took as many chairs as their luggage needed, leaving lots of people standing, blocking walkways, etc… At one point, they were three deep at the entrance to the room, making entry and exit nearly impossible. IMHO, they could have taken out a third of the chairs, which, if nothing else, would have made more standing and travel room.

Stages and Seating

There were six stages in all. Stage 6, the Open Champ stage, as mentioned above, was huge, with too much seating, which was a stark contrast to the remaining stages which were, considering the size of the venue, to small, and there was NO SEATING SET UP FOR SPECTATORS!

Stages 1 & 2, and 3 & 4 were combined, with a single musician each (at least the stage I saw, but it only makes sense considering the way they were set up that the other was the same). These stages were set so they were back-to-back, and the best I can tell they were individually about 20ish x 16ish feet each. Thing is, if you line a big comp of dancers up on each one, who, because they are back-to-back, are standing on the stage, and dance two or three dancers at a time, things start getting tight really quickly.

Stage 1 & 2 was covered with what looked like gray (or grey depending on your country) marley, and was used later as a single stage for PC set dances, which was an adequate size for that purpose. Stages 3 & 4 were just plywood, and still to small, but I digress.

Stage 5 was the PC stage, was marley covered, and appeared to be about 24 x 32. Good size.

The feis volunteers seemed to be on top of stage maintenance, and I did not see any slips or falls during the day.

Recommendation: I think there was enough room in the venue to separate the stages so none were joined, which would have reduced stage congestion since dancers would be able to line up behind, instead of on, the stage.

Recommendation: Chairs, get chairs, and put them out for the spectators, not just around the tables and in the OC room.

Oh, and did I mention chairs would be a nice addition?

Camping

Camping was probably adequate, but an area was not marked off, so it tended to spread out and spill over into the ‘walkways.’ Combine that with people standing to view the dancing, and the people who set up their camp chairs closer to the stages, it made it difficult to get around.

Judges

I cannot speak to the grades level judging, other than the fact there was one on each stage. How often or if they rotated I do not know, but I did hear one comment that one dancer had danced for the same judge for all her dances.

There were three judges on each the PC and OC stages, whom seemed attentive.

Musicians

As mentioned, the ‘combined’ stages shared a musician, and the champ stages (5 and 6) each had their own musician. If you were standing near the center of the venue, there was a lot of musical confusion, but it decreased nearer the stages.

I did hear one musical negative, and that was regarding the keyboard player. He seemed to start each of the pieces in a less traditional way. One sounded to me like the start of a 50’s rock and roll song, and I heard a similar comment from another spectator. I really didn’t put to much thought into that until I heard dancers saying that it was hard to get a good count with the way he started the songs.

Food

Convention center food, pizza, wraps, salads, fried stuffs, drinks etc… which was not super expensive. I shared a wrap with TGC that was pretty good. The pizza looked good and the slices were large, so no complaints. There were two concession stands set up and there really never seemed to be an obnoxious line.

Well, there was one complaint, I did not find out till late in the day I missed an opportunity to have poutine. THAT won’t happen again.

Vendors

Only a few, and not all dance related. You could probably get any necessities for dance, but compared to other feiseanna I attend, the vendor pickings were a bit sparse.

SIDE NOTE: They did have Cadbury, but no Smarties 🙁

Feis Flow

I am torn here…. lunch break was set to end at 12:30, and close to 1:00 our stage had not resumed while others already had. When you have been STANDING AROUND (yes, that is a no chairs remark) for hours, it starts to wear on both the dancers and the spectators.

That being said however, when they got started, they were through the hard and soft shoe rounds, and the set for a ‘larger’ comp in just about an hour. Makes you wonder where the disconnect on getting lunch done on time if the morning had run the same way.

Awards and Results

Results

Results for grades were posted along one wall near all the tables. I liked the fact that they posted just competitor numbers and no names, but the size of the font was a bit hard to read and could have been much larger considering the limited info on each results sheet.

For champ results, I am used to waiting at least 60 minutes, and most often about 90 to get results, so I was VERY IMPRESSED that results were ready in about 30 minutes for TGCs comp.

maplecitymedalAwards

There were medals in the shape of the feis logo which I thought was cool.

Each of the ‘placers’ got a small momentum that looked like a nice glass statue, but on further  investigation, were just plastic and felt a little cheap.

Champs had sashes for top 3, and some other chotchkies. Didn’t get a close enough look at them. The 1st place dancer recieved a bottle of maple syrup in a maple leaf shaped bottle. Very cool touch.

Misc/Social Media

No real social media effort that I saw, but ONE OF THE BEST FEIS WEBSITES I HAVE SEEN. Parallax scrolling, very geeky and appreciated by those of us who notice stuff like that 😉

Maple City Feis Overall Score – 6.75

I really think this feis has potential. A number of the ‘cons’ I think could be easily corrected. I know it was the first one, so I am interested to see where it goes in the future.

What Did You Think?

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North Coast Eats, 2015/1 Comment/in , , , /by

If you don’t already know, I occasionally mention some of the good eats we find while we are on the feiseanna trail. You can find the complete list in my Feistaurants section but for this post, I wanted to point out a few places you may want to consider the next time you are up Cleveland way. BTW – Cleveland and North Coast both have a few previous feistaurant entries 😉 Read more

North Coast Feis 2015/4 Comments/in , , /by

ncf

The North Coast Feis was held on February 7th, 2015 at the IX Center in Cleveland, OH. This is the second year we have been at this feis at this level, and the 4th (I think) time we have been to the feis.

This year was very much a repeat of last year, and I was thinking about just pointing you to that last review 🙂  Instead, I will quote that, and point out what might be different. You can read the whole review here.

Venue

2014 Recap

The IX Center was OK as a feis venue. The PC/OC area was in the ballroom on the main level and was a good size room, but not adequate for the amount of people needing to be in there.

Camping was not sufficient and there was lots of camping in the viewer seating. Many areas were marked ‘no camping’ but they were full of campers, and that caused some flow issues for people trying to get from the front to the back of the room.

There were 3 stages labeled G – I, for PC and OC dancers. Stage sizes appeared to be about 20 x 24 and were small for the level of dancers performing on them. The stages were extremely slippery and there were lots of falls. The feis team mopped often but it did not help.

There was pretty good separation between the stages, but music could be heard from neighboring stages. It did not seem to impact the dancers much though.

Seating was not adequate for the viewers, but was probably all they could put in considering room size. The feis committee attempted to leave adequate room for people to move around (I refer back to the camping in the no camping area comment), but it really did not work out.

Parking was good, not all ‘close’, but plentiful. It was a bit pricey at $8. The weather was not great on that day but there was a large covered drop off area in front of the venue.

2015 Notes

Everything was pretty much the same, except:

  • The room was set up the same, but it did not feel as cramped as last year, and flow through seemed easier. They had moved the stages farther into the room, so there was less congestion toward the front of the hall.
  • Less falls this year but the stages were still slippery. The crew was ready with the broom and swept frequently.
  • I did not see any ‘No Camping’ signs, and one would think I would notice 😉 This made it a camping free-for-all. We had mapped out an area with coats, the dress bag and a zuca and someone camped in the middle… smh
  • Parking was $10 this year.

Side Bar: I really wish they could do something about the fumes in the lobby. I think they are from generators from the home show. It makes spending any time in the lobby nauseating.

Venue Score: 7

Judges

2014 Recap

With the Girl Child having 3 dances, and dancing on 3 separate stages, and because PC dancers have 3 judges per stage, none of whom rotated to another stage, I have no complaints on the judging.

I actually thought it was an excellent opportunity for the dancers, performing in front of 9 different judges for the feis. With 9 judges, comments were more well rounded than the typical 2 or 3 judges that you ‘might’ get at a grade level.

2015 Notes

Ditto

Judge Score: 10

Music

2014 Recap

Each stage had its own musician and I did not hear any complaints about music.

2015 Notes

Ditto

Musician Score: 9.5

Food

2014 Recap

Standard convention center food, hamburgers, cheesebugers, pretzels, pizza, wraps and salads, a coffee stand, various drink booths and beer. Food quality was OK but not worth the price. It was about what you expect for a convention center.

2015 Notes

We were actually done early and did not take advantage of concessions.

Food Score: NA

Vendors

2014 Recap

George, the shoe guy, and Betsy, his daughter(who also responds to ‘George’s Daughter’ btw), the feis t-shirt table, wig ladies, a jewelry booth, an Irish wool and linens vendor, and the photographer. You can see all the vendors at the the feis site under Vendors.

2015 Notes

Another ditto. But, GEORGE was back after having been away from us for a while. Very happy to see you George!

Vendor Score: 7.5

Results

2014 Recap

Results are different at Champ level, as some of you know. Results for all dances are completed, top 3 in each dance determined, and then the overall top half from the entire comp are determined. When they are ready, the dancers are gathered and awards presented.

I can understand where it would take time to do this, but timeliness was only one of the issues I felt the results had. It took approximately 1.5 to 2 hours from completion of TGCs last dance to presentation of her awards. I felt that was a little long, granted, I have never tallied a PC comp so that might be normal.

Results were presented in an area on the lower level that would have been fine if comps had been done one at a time. Thing is, they waited until somewhere around 5 comps were ready before presenting the awards.

Picture if you will, 5 comps of dancers with 10 – 20 dancers each, the parents and friends for all those dancers, and dance bags and zucas for some of them, crammed into an area not fit for that many people. It was difficult for dancers to get to the presentation area when called, and for spectators to see, and picture taking was next to impossible. Not planned well at all. I feel simply doing them one comp at a time would have helped tremendously.

2015 Notes

Huge improvement over last year!

  • Time from dance to awards dropped to somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes.
  • They moved the results up to the side of the venue lobby which is a huge area and added a podium. There was plenty of room for dancers and families.
  • CON: There were no chairs which would have been nice for some spectators, and, we were in the lobby where the fumes I mentioned above lingered 🙁

Results Score: 7.5

Feis Flow

2014 Recap

Flow was not bad considering the number of dancers, TGC had three dances on three separate stages, with about 20 dancers in the comp and she was finished in roughly 2.5 hours. Since this is only the second PC feis we have attended, I really do not have a standard to judge it by, but I thought that was pretty good.

2015 Notes

Ditto, right down to the number of dancers. Oh, I have a lot more than 2 PC feiseanna under my belt now.

Feis Flow Score: 8

Scoring

Overall, I thought this was a better feis than last year and would put it in the 7.5 to 8 category.

What Say You?

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Raleigh Feis 2015 , Champs Review

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raleighThe Raleigh Feis is hosted by the Inis Cairde School of Irish Dance. The 2015 Feis was held on Friday February 6th (Adult and Music Comps) and Saturday February 7th (Grade and Champs). The location for the Feis was the Durham Marriott Convention Center in Durham, NC. Information regarding the feis was available on their website Raleigh Feis. This is the third time we have attended the Raleigh Feis. We like it for it’s location and the size of the competitions not too small, not too big. This area of Durham is up and coming and is surrounded by eclectic restaurants and shops. Many of these places are within walking distance to the Feis.

Venue

The venue for 2015 was the same as 2014–Durham Convention Center, conveniently attached to the Feis Hotel, Durham Marriott City Center. The ballrooms (used for champs) were spacious and there was not a feel of overcrowding in the Champs competition areas. Air temperature inside the rooms was cool. Even the hallways were not as jam packed as many feisianna we have attended.

Score 10

Hotel

A feis rate of 121.00 was offered with a daily fee of 12.00 for parking (valet only). For those guests not staying at the hotel, parking cost 3.00 in the garage. The hotel is nice and staff are friendly, rooms are adequate in size. The price is a little above average but the convenience of location is a benefit. While the service in the hotel lobby restaurant is slow, that is of no fault to the feis committee! Besides, there are plenty of highly rated restaurants near the hotel.

Score 8

Stages and seating

The stages were huge! They were slightly (one inch?) raised off the ground and covered in marley. There were no slipping issues that we could see and none that my dancer experienced. As for seating, the ballrooms offered plenty of chairs for guests.

Score 9

Judges

Three judges scored dancers in both rounds. They all left comments for my dancer and as most will agree, that is appreciated. The set round judge also left comments for my dancer and seemed attentive throughout the competition.

Score 9

Musicians

Champ stages each had one musician, whose music could be heard without issue. Thank you to the musicians for doing a wonderful job.

Score 10

Food

No outside food/coolers were allowed. The Feis program which was available about 10 days in advance provided a menu (with prices) of what would be available for purchase that day. While I prefer to bring my own food to a feis, knowing what will be offered and how much it will cost is beneficial. Items were somewhat pricey- the food was provided by the hotel and not affiliated with the feis. The hotel didn’t prepare well and had decreased options by lunch time. By the way, the hotel didn’t appear strict about the “no food” policy (we had our own drinks and snacks…shhhhhh). Vendors also sold snacks (taytos, cadbury, etc).

Score 7

Vendors

  • Celtic Curls – Wigs and accessories
  • Celtic Shoes – Fay’s Irish Dance Shoes
  • Emerald Key – Solo costumes, wigs
  • FabRince Callahans – Pacelli, Hullachan, Rutherford Shoes
  • Fine Designs – Official feis logo products
    • **Note: 2015 Raleigh Feis T-Shirts are available pre-sale only when registering on Feisworx, click to see the design
  • Hibernian Designs – Handmade totes, dance bags, cross-body cellphone holders
  • Thirty-One Gifts – Purses, totes, bags
  • Wild Irish Rose – Celtic jewelry, gifts and ornaments

Score 10

Seating/Camping

The ballrooms provided plenty of seating and therefore traditional “camping” is unnecessary. As usual some chairs were covered in dress bags, zuca bags and coats to “hold” seating. Overall there were seats available to those that wanted them.

Score 10

Restrooms

Location was close to the stages. One stall for the ladies room was “out of order” but this is at no fault of the feis. A short line was usually present. Another restroom was just outside the convention area and easy to get to.

Score 8

Feis Flow

The feis began at 8am with the National Anthems and then teams competition. Stages were held until teams were finished (there was an issue with this but that review should come from the grades reviewer). Once Stage 3 started (around 9:45) they moved the comps nicely. Dancers danced two at a time. While the stage was large enough for three dancers it’s always nice to have your dancer out there with only one other competitor. Morning Sets were held up a bit waiting for an adjudicator and musician. Later in the day there were more delays. This was the only negative thing that we experienced.

Score 7

Results

The results for the first few champ competitions were posted nearly 2 hours after completion of dancing. As the day pushed on it took as long, if not longer for results to be posted. This is a long time to wait! But, once the recall list was posted the awards were presented within 10 minutes. (“Recall” meaning if your number is up there you are getting an award, not the “recall” like at Oireachtas).

Score 6

Awards

The awards were made of crystal and they were splendid. In looking at pictures on twitter, instagram, and facebook, some examples of the awards were candlesticks, vases, cake platter,butterflies, and others. Sashes in bright hues of White (3rd) Purple (2nd) and Aqua (1st) were awarded as well. Top three dancers had a podium to stand on. Awards were in a separate room from dancing- it was spacious and the announcer could be heard easily. The person/people in charge of awards did a fantastic job.

Score 10

Social Media/Misc

Everything you needed to know about this event was posted on Facebook and here. The Raleigh Feis also has an Instagram page and utilized Twitter Twitter handle to announce results/awards- although it took until 11:30a.m to begin informing anxious parents/dancers when awards would finally be announced. A competitor list was posted which most attendees are happy about. I cannot praise the social media volunteers enough for the information that was provided (more info during the feis please) Something else worth recognizing at this feis was the Charity Reel to support the South Florida Chapter of the ALS association and in honor of the late Maureen Harling-Welty. The Feis raised $840.00!

Score 9

Raleigh Feis Overall Score- 8.0

The sluggish result time is the only hiccup we experienced at this feis on the champs side. According to pictures on facebook the last competitions received their results/awards just after 6pm. That seems like a long day for both the champ families and the feis volunteers! Had the results been quicker the overall score would have easily been a 9. However, there are positives to this feis such as spacious rooms, large stages, hallways were not cramped, a dress room (monitored) was offered, food was available, awards were fantastic and the volunteers were helpful and available. Special Competitions were offered for Adults, Figures, Parent/Child, Trad Set, Non Trad Set, Treble Reels/Charity reel (hard and soft shoe), Irish art, Irish baking, Vocal and Music. If you are looking for a nice feis in the Southern Region during February, consider the Raleigh Feis in 2016.

Thank you Inis Cairde Families!

What did you think?

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Raleigh Feis 2015, Grades Review/1 Comment/in , , /by

raleighThe Raleigh Feis was held February 6 and 7, 2015. Even though it is called the Raleigh Feis, it was held in the Durham Convention Center, in downtown Durham, North Carolina. This feis put the Ish in Irish. Registration began at 6ish on Friday evening. The competitions began at 8ish on Saturday. The stages were handled in a professional-ish manner. After all, enough is as good as a feast, isn’t it? This was the first feis, in a long time, where we have not heard Quiet in the Hall. So this was also a quiet-ish feis. The feis had something for all ages and abilities. The feis offered competitions in Celtic instrumental music and vocals. They also offered Celtic Art and Baking competitions. The main feis competitions were supplemented by treble reels, traditional and non traditional sets specials, and the Maureen Harling-Welty charity reel specials.

Venue: 6 out of 10

This was advertised as a convention center feis. As this was our first experience, we went on the advertised information. Our mistake. This is a glorified hotel convention center feis. Think crowded ballrooms, low lighting, and cramped hallways. With the stages on the floor, it caused most spectators to stand. Only the first four rows could see the dancers fully. From the fifth row on to the back, you saw bobbing heads and bouncing curls. The feis had previously announced a No Camping policy. It also announced that the venue would provide ample feis seating. Ample feis seating is a relative term. This could be seen by the numbers of people standing or kneeling in the aisles. Personally, I learned that posting an irritating tween next to empty seats for your family is as effective as a pile of gear. The more people who ask if the seats are taken, the more irritated the tween becomes. I think one family kept nearly half a row empty with this method. Of course, I pity those in the immediate vicinity of said tween. But, a method to remember, none the less.

Parking: 10 out of 10

For a feis, parking was plentiful. Some intrepid feis goers found free parking, on the street. Others could park at the municipal garage for $3 a day. Hotel parking ranged from $9 to $12, for overnight guests. So, all things considered, parking was an A+ for this feis.

Food: 6 out of 10

$2 for a bag of chips. $1.50 for a piece of fruit. The outside food and drink rule was sporadically enforced. Many feis supporters were seen carrying hotel coffee cups into the venue. (Yours truly, included.). The way in which the venue was constructed made it easy to leave for a bite to eat. The hotel provided coffee in the lobby, for those who knew where to look. Ash Wilkes was much more pleasant, after having his pre-feis and mid-feis cups of coffee. The feis provided 2 different food stands. Feis vendors also sold snacks. (Genuine Cadbury, anyone?)

Music: 5 out of 10

One little darling had a blessed accordionist for their stages. Said accordionist also had to repair their instrument during the morning competition. It caused confusion and delay. Our older three darlings had a fiddler for accompniament. Even in the best of circumstances, a violin is difficult to hear over hard shoe competitions. This proved to be no exception. We saw several dancers experience music related problems. Speaker volume and instrument connectivity were also a problem.

Judging: 4 out of 10

Two of our darlings had the same judge for all of their competitions. Our other two darlings had two judges for their competitions. This worked out favorably for all but one of our darlings. As I have said before, at a perfect feis, they would have a different judge for each dance. The least they could have done was to send them to the opposite stage in the same room. Then, there would have been some attempt at rotation. Sadly, for two of our darlings, all of their competitions were on the same stage…for the same judge. This feis did something we have not seen previously. They listed their art, music, and baking judges separately. The Art and Baking judges gave written comments. It was a nice touch and was an appreciated surprise by several recipients. The music judge gave verbal comments with the awards ceremony. Again, a nice touch.

Results: 6 out of 10

The results came out in a timely manner, in the morning. The room for the results was very well chosen. An L shaped location, with large easels. Brilliant solution, Raleigh Feis! It allowed for traffic flow, simple locating, and easy results reading. Champ results, with podium, were announced in a separate location. Again, brilliant move for the Raleigh Feis.

Awards: 6 out of 10

This would have been higher, if they had not advertised special awards for their art and baking competitions. Those competitors received standard medals. Which is fine, except when the feis advertising suggested otherwise. Prizewinner and above received feis emblazoned trophies. We saw several smiling dancers carrying them. Also, the top three champ placements received sashes. Wide satin sashes, with the feis name on them. This feis also offers a charity reel special, in memory of Maureen Harling-Welty. Each participating dancer received a commemorative card, long stemmed rose, and a Twizzler. This set of special was popular with all ages, from beginner to championship dancers. The new medals this feis rolled out were interesting. A clear, etched, plastic oval with the feis name and location. Instead of using gold, silver and bronze to differentiate placements, day glow medal neck ribbons were the identifier. The only draw back to these medals are the noise they make. Plastic clunking into plastic. Now, what else makes that noise? LEGOS. It is the same sound they make, as they are being dumped out of a box. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but that sound makes me cringe. One little darling had their medals taken from in the car, on the ride home. Even Mellie Wilkes can only take so much.

Social Media: 5 out of 10

The feis utilized social media in the weeks leading up to the feis. They also began using social media to announce champ award times. Sadly, this happened after the lunch break. Social media would have been helpful with the reasons behind slow grade stages and the bumping up of charity specials in the schedule.

Overall Score: 6

All things considered, this was an enjoyable feis for the Wilkes family. Even though it was a bit of a drive, we plan to attend next year. The Raleigh Feis volunteers put in a lot of work. It resulted in a successful feis.

So what did you think?

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Feising for the ‘traditional’ sports parents

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CAMERON
My latest post on Antonio Pacelli, some dos and don’ts for the first time parents who have brought their children up in ‘less cool’ sports like football. Also good for family and friends who are going to their first feis.

Read the entire post out at https://www.antoniopacelli.com/community/article/attending-your-first-feis-for-the-traditional-sports-parents